Pulp feeder for used paper recycling apparatus

ABSTRACT

A pulp feeder capable of obtaining recycled paper of uniform texture, stable in the weight of the wet paper made on a mesh belt, in a very narrow used paper processing space of furniture size. A pulp feeding unit (pulp feeder) includes a retention unit disposed slidably on the upper side of an running mesh belt, for retaining a pulp suspension sent from a pulp manufacturing unit, and a paper making frame body for defining the supply width of the pulp suspension on the upper side of the mesh belt, in which the leading end position of this paper making frame body is provided with an overflow unit for keeping constant the water level of the pulp suspension retained in the retention unit. The pulp suspension supplied in the retention unit is retained to the water level defined the overflow unit, and is uniformly dispersed and supplied on the upper side of the mesh belt by cooperative action of this retention action and the running action of the mesh belt.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a recycled paper smoothing device forused paper recycling apparatus, and more particularly to a pulp feederfor composing a principal component of a paper making unit formanufacturing wet paper by making from a slurry-like pulp suspension, ina used paper recycling apparatus of a small furniture size to beinstalled at the site of origin of used paper, for regenerating andprocessing the used paper into a reusable paper at the site withoutdisposing and discarding.

2. Description of the Related Art

Used paper occurs everyday and everywhere, including government offices,companies, and general household, such as used and unnecessarydocuments. Generally, used paper is disposed as refuse, incinerated, ordiscarded.

On the other hand, from the global trend of effective use of limitedresources on earth, various technologies have been developed forregenerating and reusing the used paper discarded so far withoutdisposing or discarding.

These used paper recycling technologies are mostly employed in the papermaking industry, and the used paper recycling equipment requires, likean ordinary paper making equipment, a vast land, a tremendous capitalinvestment, and a huge amount of chemicals and water used in papermaking, for the purpose of fast and mass production of recycled paper,and enhancement of paper quality.

Used paper recycling requires manual used paper collection works by manypeople, and involves various problems, such as mixture of foreignmatter, defective sorting due to lack of knowledge about used paperrecycling, failure in removal of debris, and many others, and if usedpaper is collected, in order to regenerate the used paper as recycledpaper perfectly by 100%, final sorting by specialists and cleaning orscreening should be needed. Moreover, used paper includes confidentialdocuments, and due to the confidential problems, such documents are notcollected as general garbage, but may be incinerated and discarded, andrecycling is not promoted in certain fields.

To solve these problems of used paper recycling, it is effective todevelop a technology capable of regenerating and utilizing at the siteof origin of the used paper, and from such point of view, the presentapplicant has developed and proposed various used paper recyclingapparatus as disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent ApplicationLaid-Open No. 2007-308837.

This used paper recycling apparatus relates to a used paper recyclingapparatus of a large scale such as used paper recycling plant, realizedas an apparatus to be installed indoors in a small shop, a generalhousehold, or the like, and the apparatus includes, in an apparatus caseof furniture size, a pulp making unit for macerating and beating usedpaper and manufacturing used paper pulp, a paper making unit formanufacturing recycled paper by making the used paper pulp manufacturedin the pulp making unit, and a control unit for driving and controllingthe pulp making unit and the paper making unit by interlocking, in whichthe paper making unit includes a paper making process unit for producingwet paper by making the used paper pulp sent from the pulp making unit,and a drying process unit for produced recycled paper by drying the wetpaper made and formed in the paper making process unit, and these twoprocess units are composed in a form of a belt conveyor having a runningbelt for processing and conveying the used paper pulp.

The used paper is macerated and beaten in the pulp making unit andbecomes used paper pulp, and this used paper pulp is conveyed on therunning belt of the belt conveyor in the paper making unit, and isprocessed in the processes of filtering and dewatering, squeezing anddewatering, and heating and drying, and is recycled paper is obtained.In this process, at the stage of pulp, the used paper is decomposed tofiber level, and written or printed characters and diagrams arecompletely decomposed and lost, and cannot be restored, so that theconfidential information or personal information composed in thesecharacters and diagrams are securely prevented from leaking ordisclosing outside.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is a primary object of the present invention to present a novel pulpfeeder of a used paper recycling apparatus further improved from theconventional used paper recycling apparatus.

It is other object of the present invention to present a pulp feedercapable of obtaining a recycled paper of uniform texture, stable in theweight of the wet paper made on an endless mesh belt, in a very narrowused paper processing space of a used paper recycling apparatus offurniture size to be installed indoors in a small shop, a generalhousehold, or the like, not limited to a large office or the like, inparticular, by improving the configuration of the pulp feeder forsupplying pulp on the endless mesh belt running in the paper makingprocess unit, by processing the used paper pulp sent from a proceedingprocess of pulp making unit, at a start end of the paper making processunit of the paper making unit of the used paper recycling apparatus.

To achieve the object, the pulp feeder of the used paper recyclingapparatus of the present invention is a device for composing a pulpfeeder of a paper making device in a used paper recycling apparatus offurniture size to be installed at the site of origin of used paper, thepaper making device being for manufacturing recycled paper by makingfrom used paper pulp manufactured in a proceeding process of pulpmanufacturing unit, including a paper making frame body disposedslidably on the upper side of an endless mesh belt running in a papermaking process unit, having a retention unit for retaining a slurry-likepulp suspension mixing the water and used paper pulp sent from the pulpmanufacturing unit, and for defining the supply width of the pulpsuspension on the upper side of the endless mesh belt, in which theleading end position of this paper making frame body is provided withoverflow means for keeping constant the water level of the pulpsuspension retained in the retention unit, and the pulp suspensionsupplied in the paper making frame body is retained in the retentionunit to the water level defined the overflow means, and is uniformlydispersed and supplied on the upper side of the endless mesh belt bycooperative action of this retention action and the running action ofthe endless mesh belt.

A preferred embodiment is composed as follows.

(1) The paper making frame body has its frame inside width dimension setat the width dimension of the recycled paper to be manufactured, and thesupply width of the pulp suspension on the upper side of the endlessmesh belt is defined.

(2) The overflow means is provided at both side walls of the retentionunit at the leading end position of the paper making frame body, andincludes an overflow gate for overflowing the pulp suspension when thewater level of the pulp suspension retained in the paper making framebody exceeds a specific level, and a collection route passing to acollection port by way of the periphery of the paper making frame bodyfrom the outside of this overflow gate.

(3) The upper edge of the overflow gate is set to be horizontal andstraight in a state of the paper making frame body installed on theendless mesh belt.

(4) The bottom of the paper making frame body is provided with a flatplate member for covering the mesh of the mesh belt in a closed statefrom the upper side, and the bottom of the retention unit is formed bythis flat plate member and the running endless mesh belt, the pulpsuspension supplied in the paper making frame body is retained in theretention unit to a water level defined by the overflow means, and isuniformly dispersed and supplied on the upper side of the endless meshbelt by cooperative action of this retention action and the runningaction of the endless mesh belt.

(5) The leading end edge of the flat plate member of the paper makingframe body is provided with a thin guide sheet for assuring a smoothflow of the pulp suspension on the mesh belt.

(6) The upstream side of the retention unit in the paper making framebody is provided with a meandering flow passage for promoting uniformdispersion of the supplied pulp suspension, and preventing disturbanceof the pulp suspension.

(7) The meandering flow passage is provided in a zigzag form in avertical direction between the supply port of the pulp suspension of thepaper making frame body and the retention unit.

(8) The meandering flow passage is provided in a zigzag form in avertical direction between the supply port of the pulp suspension of thepaper making frame body and the retention unit.

(9) The lower side of the running endless mesh belt is provided with apartition plate member disposed slidably.

(10) The partition plate member is formed in a louver structure forslidably supporting the lower side of the endless mesh belt.

(11) The endless mesh belt is disposed upward and obliquely toward therunning direction.

The paper making device of the used paper recycling apparatus of thepresent invention is a paper making device for composing a used paperrecycling apparatus of furniture size to be installed at the site oforigin of used paper, for manufacturing recycled paper by making fromused paper pulp manufactured in a proceeding process of a pulp makingdevice, comprising a paper making process unit for producing wet paperby making from a slurry-like pulp suspension mixing water and used paperpulp sent from the pulp making device, in which this paper makingprocess unit has a paper making conveyor for conveying while making thepulp suspension, and a pulp feeding unit for feeding the pulp suspensionfrom the pulp making device to the paper making conveyor, beinginstalled at a paper making process start end position of this papermaking conveyor, and this pulp feeding unit is composed of the pulpfeeder.

The used paper recycling apparatus of the present invention includes, inan apparatus case of furniture size, a pulp making unit formanufacturing used paper pulp by macerating and beating used paper, apaper making unit for manufacturing recycled paper by making from theused paper pulp manufactured in this pulp making unit, and a controlunit for driving and controlling the pulp making unit and the papermaking unit by interlock, in which the paper making unit is composed ofthe paper making device.

The pulp feeder of the present invention includes a retention unitdisposed slidably on the upper side of an endless mesh belt running in apaper making process unit, for retaining a slurry-like pulp suspensionmixing the water and used paper pulp sent from the pulp manufacturingunit, and a paper making frame body for defining the supply width of thepulp suspension on the upper side of the endless mesh belt, in which theleading end position of this paper making frame body is provided withoverflow means for keeping constant the water level of the pulpsuspension retained in the retention unit, and the pulp suspensionsupplied in the paper making frame body is retained in the retentionunit to the water level defined the overflow means, and is uniformlydispersed and supplied on the upper side of the endless mesh belt bycooperative action of this retention action and the running action ofthe endless mesh belt, and therefore if variation occurs in the supplywater amount of the pulp suspension sent into the paper making framebody, the water level of the pulp suspension retained in the papermaking frame body is always maintained constant, so that the weight ofthe wet paper making on the endless mesh belt is stably, and thatrecycled paper of uniform texture will be obtained.

Moreover, in the paper making device of the present invention havingsuch pulp feeder, it can be installed not only in a large office, butalso in a small shop or general household, and it is friendly to theenvironment, and low in running cost, and leak or disclosure ofconfidential information, personal information, and various items ofinformation can be prevented securely, and a used paper recyclingapparatus of high confidentiality can be presented.

These and other objects and features of the present invention will beappreciated by reading the detailed description made in conjunction withthe accompanying drawings, and novel facts pointed out in the claimsthereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front sectional view showing an overall outlineconfiguration of a used paper recycling apparatus in a preferredembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view showing an overall outline configurationof the used paper recycling apparatus of the same.

FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram showing a configuration of a used paper pulpcirculation route of a beating unit of the used paper recyclingapparatus of the same.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a pulpconcentration adjustment unit of the used paper recycling apparatus ofthe same.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an overall outline configuration ofa paper making unit of the used paper recycling apparatus of the same.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a pulp feedingunit in the paper making unit.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a configuration of the pulp feeding unitof the same.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view along line VIII-VIII of FIG. 7 showing theconfiguration of the pulp feeding unit of the same.

FIG. 9 is a plan view showing a sectional view along line IX-IX of FIG.7 showing the configuration of the pulp feeding unit of the same.

FIG. 10 is a front view showing a configuration of the pulp feeding unitof the same.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing an outline configuration of theused paper recycling apparatus.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Preferred embodiments of the present invention are describedspecifically below while referring to the accompanying drawings.Throughout the drawings, same reference numerals refer to same orsimilar constituent components or elements.

A used paper recycling apparatus of the present invention is shown inFIG. 1 to FIG. 11, and this used paper recycling apparatus 1 isspecifically installed at the site of origin of used paper, and is anapparatus for regenerating into a reusable paper at the same site,without disposing or discarding the used paper UP, and the used paper UPincludes confidential documents from government offices and generalcorporate offices, personal letters from general household, and otherused and unnecessary documents.

The used paper recycling apparatus 1 is as small as furniture size shownin FIG. 11, that is, small and compact similar to document rack, locker,desk, copier, personal computer, and other equipment installed in anoffice, and includes, as shown in FIG. 1, main units, specifically apulp making unit 2, a pulp concentration adjustment unit 3, a papermaking unit (paper making device) 4, and a device control unit (controlunit) 5, and the paper making unit 4 includes a pulp feeding unit (pulpfeeder) 15 which is a feature mechanism of the present invention.

These apparatus components 2 to 5 are compact in design to beincorporated and installed in an apparatus case 6. This apparatus case 6is a furniture size as mentioned above, and the specific shape and sizemay be designed appropriately depending on the purpose or application.The apparatus case 6 of the illustrated preferred embodiment is formedlike a box of shape and size similar to a copier installed and used inan office, and the top plate of the apparatus case 6 is provided with aninlet port 7 opening and closing for putting in used paper UP, an theside part is provided with an outlet port 8 for discharging recycledpaper RP, RP, . . . . At the lower edge position of this outlet port 8,a recycled paper receiving tray 9 is detachably provided for receivingthe recycled paper RP, RP, . . . discharged from the outlet port 8.

The pulp making unit 2 is a process unit for manufacturing used paperpulp by macerating and beating the used paper UP, and consists of amacerating unit 20 for agitating, crushing, and macerating the usedpaper UP, and a beating unit 21 for beating the used paper UP maceratedin this macerating unit 20.

The macerating unit 20 is a process unit for agitating, crushing, andmacerating the used paper UP, and mainly consists of a macerating tank25, an agitating device 26, and a water feed device 27.

The macerating tank 25 is, as shown in FIG. 2, provided with the inletport 7 for feeding and supplying the used paper UP in its ceiling wall,and its bottom wall is provided with a discharge port 28 for dischargingthe macerated used paper pulp UPP to the downstream side. The innervolume of the macerating tank 25 is set depending on the number of usedpaper UP to be agitated and processed in batch. In the illustratedpreferred embodiment, the macerating tank 25 has a capacity of agitatingand processing (in batch process) about 500 sheets (about 2000 g) ofused paper UP of A4 format PPC (plain paper copier) by adding about 98liters of water. In this case, the concentration of the used paper pulpUPP to be macerated is about 2%. This concentration adjustment isconducted by water supplied from the water feed device 27, and thiswater feed device 27 forms a part of the pulp concentration adjustmentunit as described below.

The inlet port 7 is designed to be opened and closed with respect to theoutside of the case cover 6 a as apparatus case 6. The discharge port 28is opened and closed by a switch valve 29, and is connected to a usedpaper circulation route 49 mentioned below. The position of thedischarge port 28 is provided with a debris filter 30 for removingdebris harmful for the subsequent process of the beating process, suchas clips, staples, and others binding the used paper UP, UP, . . . .

The switch valve 29 is opened and closed specifically by crank motion ofa crank mechanism 36 by a driving motor 35. The driving motor 35 isspecifically an electric motor, and this driving motor 35 iselectrically connected to the device control unit 5.

An agitating device 26 is provided inside of the macerating tank 25, andincludes an agitating impeller 40 and a driving motor 41.

The agitating impeller 40 has its rotation shaft 40 a rotatablysupported in an upright position in the bottom center of the maceratingtank 25, and the lower end of the rotation shaft 40 a is driven andcoupled to a rotation shaft 41 a of the driving motor 41 by way oftransmission means 42 composed of a transmission pulley 42 a, atransmission belt 42 b, and a transmission pulley 42 c.

The water feed device 27 is to supply water W into the macerating tank25, and composes a beating concentration adjustment unit 3A of the pulpconcentration adjustment unit 3 as described below.

The water feed device 27 of the illustrated preferred embodimentincludes, as shown in FIG. 1, a white water collection tank 45, a waterfeed pump 46 for beating concentration adjustment, and a water feed pump47 for paper making concentration adjustment. The white water collectiontank 45 is, as described below, designed to collect white water Wfiltered and dewatered in the paper making unit 4 (that is, pulp waterof ultra-low concentration filtered by the paper making mesh in thepaper making process), and the white water W collected in the whitewater collection tank 45 is supplied into the macerating tank 25 throughthe water feed pump 46, and into a concentration adjustment tank 85through the water feed pump 47 mentioned below.

In this relation, in the bottom of the macerating tank 25, a weightsensor 48 is provided, and the used paper UP, UP, . . . and the amountof water processed in batch in the macerating tank 25 are weighed andcontrolled, and the weight sensor 48 is electrically connected to thedevice control unit 5.

The weight sensor 48 of the illustrated preferred embodiment is composedof a load cell, and is designed to sense and measure the total weight ofthe used paper UP, UP, and the water charged and supplied in themacerating tank 25.

In a specific control configuration of the macerating unit 20, first theoperator opens the inlet port 7, and charges used paper UP, UP, . . .into the macerating tank 25, and its weight is sensed and measured bythe weight sensor 48, and when reaching the specified weight (number ofsheets), it is noticed to the operator by sound and/or display.Corresponding to this display, the operator closes the inlet port 7, andthe water feed device 27 is driven, and the feed water pump 46 suppliesthe water W in the white water collection tank 45 into the maceratingtank 25 by the amount corresponding to the charged weight (number ofsheets) of the used paper UP, UP, . . . .

When the operator closes the inlet port 7 after feeding an arbitraryamount (smaller than the specified weight (number of sheets)) of usedpaper UP, UP, . . . into the macerating tank 25 from the inlet port 7,the weight is sensed and measured by the weight sensor 48, and the waterfeed device 27 is driven, and a proper amount of water W correspondingto the result of measurement is supplied into the macerating tank 25from the white water collection tank 45.

In the illustrated preferred embodiment, as mentioned above, when amaximum of about 500 sheets (about 2000 g) of A4 format PPC used paperUP is charged into the macerating tank 25, at this moment, it is noticedto the operator by sound and/or display, and by the closing action ofthe inlet port 7, about 98 liters of water is supplied from the waterfeed device 27, or when an arbitrary amount (smaller than the specifiedweight (number of sheets)) of used paper UP, UP, . . . is supplied, aproper amount of water corresponding to the supplied amount of the usedpaper is added from the water feed device 27, and the concentration ofthe used paper pulp UPP to be macerated is controlled and adjusted to beabout 2%.

In the agitating device 26, the used paper UP, UP, . . . charged intothe macerating tank 25 from the supply opening of the apparatus case 6,that is, the inlet port 7, are operated by normal and reverse rotationof the agitating impeller 40 by the driving motor 41, and agitated andmixed for a specified time (10 to 20 minutes in the illustratedpreferred embodiment) in the water supplied from the water feed device27, so that the used paper UP, UP, . . . are macerated and beaten, andused paper pulp UPP is obtained.

The discharge port 28 of the macerating tank 25 is closed by the switchvalve 29 during operation of the macerating unit 20, and flow of usedpaper UP or used paper pulp UPP from the macerating tank 25 into theused paper pulp circulation route 49 is prevented, and the dischargeport 28 is opened by the switch valve 49 during operation of the beatingunit 21 described below, and the flow of used paper pulp UPP from themacerating tank 25 into the used paper pulp circulation route 49 and thecirculation flow are allowed.

The beating unit 21 is a process unit for beating the used paper UPmacerated in the macerating unit 20, and specifically the used paper UPmacerated in the macerating unit 20 is pressurized and beaten, and theinks for forming characters and patterns on the used paper UP (printingink forming characters and patterns on the used paper UP by variousprinting technologies, characters and patterns formed on the used paperUP by pencil, ball-point pen, fountain pen, or the like, and other inks)are ground and pulverized (to be micro-fibers).

The beating unit 21 has a grinder 50 as a principal component. Thisgrinder 50 mainly includes a pair of beating disks 51, 52 rotated anddriven relatively, and the pair of beating disks 51, 52 are disposedoppositely and concentrically across a tiny beating gap G betweenbeating action faces 51 a, 52 a.

The beating gap G of the beating action faces 51 a, 52 a of the grinder50 is set to be narrower gradually from the grinder 50 for initialperiod to the grinder 50 for terminal period of the beating process, asdescribed below.

In the beating unit 21 of the present preferred embodiment, as shown inFIG. 3, the used paper pulp circulation route 49 comprising one grinder50 is formed, and the used paper UP is beaten and processed while beingcirculated for a specified time by way of the grinder 50 in acirculation system.

By the execution of the beating process by the used paper pulpcirculation route 49, in spite of a very small and narrow process spaceof the apparatus case 6 of furniture size, a used paper pulp beatingprocess route of limitless length basically not limited in length, abeating process space practically equal to the beating process in alarge-scale plant can be assured, and an optimum beating effect can beobtained depending on the purpose.

In relation to one grinder 50 for executing the beating processthroughout the whole process of the beating process, this one grinder 50plays the function of a plurality of grinders from the grinder forinitial period to the grinder for terminal period of the beatingprocess. Specifically, the beating gap G of the beating action faces 51a, 52 a of this grinder 50 is controlled and adjusted to be narrowergradually from the initial period to the terminal period of the beatingprocess.

The grinder 50 of the illustrated preferred embodiment as shown in FIG.2 is installed adjacently to the macerating tank 25 of the maceratingunit 20, in an apparatus machine body 54 for composing the apparatuscase 6, and as shown in FIG. 3, it includes a beating tank 55communicating with the macerating tank 25 of the macerating unit 20, thepair of beating disks 51, 52 rotatably provided relatively in thisbeating tank 55, a rotation drive source 56 for rotating the pair ofbeating disks 51, 52 relatively, and gap adjusting means 57 foradjusting the beating gap G of the pair of beating disks 51, 52.

The beating tank 55 is formed in a closed cylindrical shape capable ofaccommodating the pair of beating disks 51, 52, and has a supply port 55a for supplying the used paper pulp UPP from the upstream side, and adischarge port 55 b for discharging the beaten used paper pulp UPP tothe downstream side.

Specifically, the supply port 55 a is opened toward the verticaldirection in the center of the bottom of the beating tank 55, and thedischarge port 55 b opened toward the horizontal direction at thecylindrical side of the beating tank 55. The supply port 55 a and thedischarge port 55 b are connected, as shown in FIG. 3, to communicatewith the macerating tank 25 of the macerating unit 20, respectively byway of circulation pipings 49 a, 49 b, and the discharge port 55 bfurther communicates with a used paper pulp collection tank 60 by way ofa discharge piping 59.

Reference numeral 61 is a direction changeover valve, and by theswitching action of this direction changeover valve 61, the used paperpulp UPP discharged from the discharge port 55 b is selectively returnedto the macerating tank 25, or collected in the used paper pulpcollection tank 60. The direction changeover valve 61 is specifically anelectromagnetic valve, and it is electrically connected to the devicecontrol unit 5.

One of the pair of beating disks 51, 52 is a fixed side beating diskfixed and provided in the rotating direction, and the other is arotating side beating disk capable of rotating. In the illustratedpreferred embodiment, the upper side beating disk 51 is the rotatingside, and the lower side beating disk 52 is the fixed side, and withrespect to the lower side fixed side beating disk 52, the upper siderotating side beating disk 51 is disposed oppositely concentrically androtatably across a tiny beating gap G. This rotating side beating disk51 is coupled and driven to a driving motor 56 by way of a rotation mainshaft 64 supported rotatably at the fixed side of the apparatus machinebody 54 and movably in the axial direction.

The rotation main shaft 64 is rotatably supported on an elevating memberof the gap adjusting means 57 although not shown specifically, and therotating side beating disk 51 is fitted to its leading endconcentrically and integrally, and its base end part is driven andcoupled to the rotation shaft of the driving motor 56 integrally in therotating direction, and relatively movably in the axial direction.

The driving motor 56 is a rotation drive source, and it relativelyrotates the pair of beating disks 51, 52, and an electric motor is usedspecifically, and this driving motor 56 as the drive source iselectrically connected to the device control unit 5.

Opposite faces 51 a, 52 a of the both beating disks 51, 52 forming thetiny beating gap G cooperate with each other, and form beating actionfaces. These opposite beating action faces 51 a, 52 a are grinding wheelsurfaces formed of multiple abrasive grains bonded by a bondingmaterial. The both beating action faces 51 a, 52 a are formed in a tapershape, as shown in FIG. 3, so that the diameter dimension may be largercontinuously in the mutually opposite directions, and the outermostperipheral edges are mutually parallel annular flat surfaces, and theseannular flat surfaces form the beating gap G.

In other words, in the pair of beating disks 51, 52, at the centralposition of the beating action face 52 a of the fixed side beating disk52, an inlet 70 is formed so as to communicate coaxially with the supplyport 55 a of the beating tank, and two annular flat surfaces formed onthe outer peripheral edges of the beating action faces 51 a, 52 a of thepair of beating disks 51, 52 communicate with the discharge port 55 b ofthe beating tank 55, and form a outlet 71 having the beating gap G.

On the outer circumference of the rotating side beating disk 51, aplurality of blades 72, 72, . . . are provided at specified intervals inthe circumferential direction, and these blades 72, 72, . . . arerotated by the rotating side beating disk 51, and the used paper pulpUPP discharged from the outlet 71 is forced out by pumping action towardthe discharge port 55 b of the beating tank 55 by a centrifugal force.

In this way, by the driving motor 56 as the drive source, when therotating side beating disk 51 is rotated and driven with respect to thefixed side beating disk 52, the used paper pulp UPP supplied in thebeating space B from the macerating tank 25 of the macerating unit 20 byway of the supply port 55 a and the inlet 70 of the beating tank 55flows into the beating space B from the inlet 70, and passes throughthis beating space B, and is pressurized and beaten by the relativelyrotating beating action faces 51 a, 52 a, and the inks formingcharacters and patterns on the used paper UP are ground and pulverized,and the used paper UP is discharged through the discharge port 55 b ofthe beating tank 55 from the outlet 71.

When being discharged from the outlet 71, the used paper pulp UPPfurther receives the pressurizing and beating actions at the location ofthe outlet 71 having the beating gap G, and is pulverized to a micronsize (to be micro fibers) specified by the beating gap G.

In this regard, in the present preferred embodiment, as mentioned above,since the used paper pulp circulation route 49 is provided with thecirculation beating process (see FIG. 3) having one grinder 50, that is,the one grinder 50 functions as a plurality of grinders from the grinderfor initial period to the grinder for terminal period of the beatingprocess, and the beating gap G of this grinder 50 is controlled andadjusted so as to be gradually narrower from the initial period to theterminal period of the beating process by the gap adjusting means 57.

The gap adjusting means 57 is composed to control and adjust the beatinggap G of the beating disks 51, 52, although not shown specifically, bymoving the pair of beating disks 51, 52 relatively in the rotation axialdirection, and is mainly composed of moving means (not shown) for movingthe rotating side beating disk 51 in the rotation axial direction, thatis, in the axial direction of the rotation main shaft 64, and a drivesource 66 for driving this moving means. The drive source isspecifically an electric motor, and this driving motor 66 iselectrically connected to the apparatus control unit 5.

By rotation of this electric motor 66, the rotation main shaft 64 ismoved up and down by way of the moving means, and the rotating sidebeating disk 51 integral with the rotation main shaft 64 is moved in thevertical direction to the fixed side beating disk 52, that is, in therotation axial direction, and the beating gap G of the both beatingdisks 51, 52 is controlled and adjusted.

For this purpose, a position detection sensor (not shown) is providedfor detecting the elevating position of the rotating side beating disk51, and by the detection result of the position detection sensor, thedriving motor 66 is controlled and driven. The position detection sensoris electrically connected to the device control unit 5.

The beating gap G of the beating disks 51, 52 by the gap adjusting means57 is controlled and adjusted in mutual cooperation with a circulationpump 69 as circulation means, in the circulation beating process in theused paper pulp circulation route 49 shown in FIG. 3.

That is, in FIG. 3, the used paper pulp UPP macerated and processed inthe macerating unit 20 is circulated in the used paper circulation route49 by means of the circulation pump 69, and the beating process isexecuted by the grinder 50, and at this time the beating gap G of thebeating action faces 51 a, 52 a of the grinder 50 is adjusted to benarrower gradually from the initial period to the terminal period of thebeating process by the gap adjusting means 57.

In this manner, one grinder 50 is disposed in the used paper pulpcirculation route 49, and the beating gap G of this grinder 50 iscontrolled and adjusted to be narrower gradually from the initial periodto the terminal period of the beating process in the circulation system,and therefore in a very narrow process space of furniture size, the usedpaper pulp UPP is repeatedly and sequentially processed by thepressurizing and beating action and the ink grinding and pulverizingaction by the beating action faces 51 a, 52 a of grinder 50 becominggradually narrower in the beating gap G, and further the beating and theink grinding and pulverizing actions are executed uniformly on theentire used paper pulp UPP circulating in the used paper pulpcirculation route 49. As a result, an optimum paper tenacity is obtainedfor the recycled paper RP made and regenerated in the paper making unit4 described below, and the recycled paper RP of high degree of whiteness(equal to de-inked quality) will be obtained.

The used paper pulp circulation route 49 includes the macerating tank 25of the macerating unit 20, and in this relation, in the beating process,the agitating device 26 of the macerating unit 20 is driven andcontrolled, and the macerating unit 20 and the beating unit 21 aredriven at the same time. That is, in the circulation type beatingprocess, while the used paper pulp UPP flows out from the maceratingtank 25 into the used paper pulp circulation route 49, the used paperpulp UPP after beaten by the grinder 50 flows into the macerating tank25, and therefore in the macerating tank 25, the used paper pulp UPPdifferent in the beating degree is mixed, and by the agitating action bythe agitating device 26, the beating degree of the used paper pulp UPPin the macerating tank 25 is made uniform, and the beating process ispromoted.

The used paper pulp collection tank 60 is a location for collecting theused paper pulp UPP beaten and pulverized to a specified size by thebeating unit 21, and the used paper pulp UPP collected herein is sentinto the pulp concentration adjustment unit 3 to be processed into apulp suspension PS mixed and adjusted to a paper making concentrationcorresponding to the finished paper quality of the recycled paper RP tobe regenerated before being sent into the paper making unit 4 of thenext process of paper making process.

The pulp concentration adjustment unit 3 is a weight type device foradjusting the mixing rate of the used paper UP and the water W to becharged into the apparatus, and adjusting the concentration of the usedpaper pulp UPP to be supplied in the paper making unit 4, andspecifically as shown in FIG. 4, it includes a beating concentrationadjustment unit 3A, a paper making concentration adjustment unit 313,and a pulp concentration control unit 3C,

The beating concentration adjustment unit 3A is intended to adjust thebeating concentration of the used paper pulp UPP in the pulp making unit2, corresponding to the beating efficiency by the beating unit 21, andmainly includes the water feed pump 46 for beating concentrationadjustment of the water feed device 27, as mentioned above, and abeating concentration control unit 75.

The supply amount of white water W by the water feed pump 46 of thebeating concentration adjustment unit 3A is preferably set so that thebeating concentration of the used paper pulp UPP macerated and beaten bythe agitating device 26 may be the maximum concentration allowable forthe beating capacity of the grinder 50 of the beating unit 21 forexecuting the next process of beating process, and in the illustratedpreferred embodiment, it is set to be a beating concentration of about2% as mentioned above.

The beating concentration control unit 75 drives and controls, asmentioned above, the water feed pump 46 so as to supply a necessaryamount of water W into the macerating tank 25, depending on themeasurement result from the weight sensor 48. This beating concentrationcontrol unit 75 forms a part of the device control unit 5 as describedbelow.

The paper making concentration adjustment unit 3B is for adjusting thepaper making concentration of the used paper pulp UPP in the papermaking unit 4 to an appropriate concentration corresponding to thefinished paper quality of the recycled paper RP for regenerating, and isspecifically designed to adjust the concentration of the used paper pulpUPP manufactured in the pulp making unit 2 in division type, and itmainly includes a division extraction unit 80, a suspension adjustmentunit 81, and a paper making concentration control unit 82.

The division extraction unit 80 is for dividing and extracting aspecified small amount from the whole volume of the used paper pulp UPPmanufactured in the pulp making unit 2 in the proceeding process, andincludes a used paper pulp supply pump 86 for division extraction forextracting the used paper pulp UPP of the used paper pulp collectiontank 60 and sending into a concentration adjustment tank 85.

The suspension adjustment unit 81 is for preparing the pulp suspensionPS of a specified concentration by adding a specified amount of water Wfor concentration adjustment to a specified small amount of used paperpulp UPP divided and extracted by the division extraction unit 80, andmainly includes the water feed pump 47 of the water feed device 27 asmentioned above.

Specifically, although not shown in the drawing, in the bottom of theconcentration adjustment tank 85, same as in the macerating tank 25stated above, a weight sensor 87 formed of a load cell is provided, andit is designed to measure and control the amount of used paper pulp UPPand water W for concentration adjustment supplied into the concentrationadjustment tank 85, and the weight sensor 87 is connected electricallyto the device control unit 5.

The paper making concentration control unit 82 is for controlling byinterlocking the division extraction unit 80 and the suspensionadjustment unit 81, and forms a part of the device control unit 5, andinterlocks and controls pumps 86, 47 of the division extraction unit 80and the suspension adjustment unit 81 so as to execute the paper makingconcentration adjustment process as described below.

First of all, from the whole volume of used paper pulp UPP collected inthe used paper pulp collection tank 60 from the beating unit 21 (in theillustrated preferred embodiment, about 2000 g of used paper UP+100liters of water W), a specified portion (1 liter in the illustratedpreferred embodiment) of used paper pulp UPP is divided by the usedpaper pulp feed pump 86, and is transferred and contained in theconcentration adjustment tank 85. As a result, the weight is sensed andmeasured by the weight sensor 87, and the result is transmitted to thedevice control unit 5.

In succession, corresponding to the specified portion of the dividedused paper pulp UPP, the water feed pump 47 supplies a specified amountof water W for dilution into the concentration adjustment tank 85 fromthe white water collection tank 45 (9 liters in the illustratedpreferred embodiment (actually as measured by the weight sensor 87)).

In consequence, in the concentration adjustment tank 85, the used paperpulp UPP of beating concentration (2% in the illustrated preferredembodiment) and the water W are mixed and diluted, and pulp suspensionPS of specified concentration (in the illustrated preferred embodiment,about 0.2% concentration (target concentration)) is prepared.

Meanwhile, the target concentration of the pulp suspension PS to beprepared is set in consideration of the paper making capacity in thepaper making unit 4 as described below on the basis of the preliminaryexperiment, and it is set at about 0.2% as mentioned above in the caseof the illustrated preferred embodiment.

In this manner, the pulp suspension PS adjusted to the targetconcentration of paper making concentration (0.2%) in the concentrationadjustment tank 85 is transferred and supplied into a pulp supply tank89 from the concentration adjustment tank 85 by way of a firstsuspension supply pump 88, and is temporarily stored in wait for thenext process of the paper making unit 4. Hereinafter, this paper makingconcentration adjustment process is repeatedly executed similarly forthe whole amount of the used paper pulp UPP in the used paper pulpcollection tank 60. In the pulp supply tank 89, a second suspensionsupply pump 90 is provided for sending the pulp suspension PS to a papermaking belt conveyor unit 95 of the paper making unit 4.

An agitating device 91 is provided in the pulp supply tank 89, and bythe agitating action of this agitating device 87 (91?), the entire papermaking concentration of the temporarily stored pulp suspension PS ismaintained uniformly at a specific value.

Thus, since the concentration adjustment by the paper makingconcentration adjustment unit 3 is not executed in batch of wholevolume, but in small divided portions or dispensed portions, not onlythe water consumption is saved substantially, but also the shape andsize of the concentration adjustment tank 85 can be reducedsubstantially, and the entire structure of the used paper recyclingapparatus 1 is realized in a compact design.

The pulp concentration control unit 3C is to drive and control thebeating concentration adjustment unit 3A and the paper makingconcentration adjustment unit 3B in cooperation, and specifically byreceiving the pulp concentration control information (the charged amountof used paper UP, water supply amount to the macerating tank 25, beatingconcentration of used paper pulp UPP, and others) from the beatingconcentration control unit 75 of the beating concentration adjustmentunit 3A, depending on this control information, the paper makingconcentration control information (the target paper making concentrationof the used paper pulp UPP, the division extraction amount of the usedpaper pulp UPP from the used paper pulp collection tank 60, the watersupply amount to the concentration adjustment tank 85, and others) forcontrolling the concentration of the used paper pulp UPP manufactured inthe pulp making unit 2 to the target value (paper making concentration)is sent to the paper making concentration control unit 82 of the papermaking concentration adjustment unit 3B, so that the paper makingconcentration adjustment process mentioned above can be executed.

The paper making unit 4 is a process unit for manufacturing recycledpaper RP by making from the used paper pulp UPP manufactured in theproceeding process of the pulp making unit 2, and as shown in FIG. 1 andFIG. 5, it mainly includes a paper making belt conveyor unit (papermaking process unit) 95, a dewatering roll unit 96, and a drying beltconveyor unit 97, and the paper making belt conveyor unit 95 is providedwith a pulp feeding unit (pulp feeder) 15 which is a feature mechanismof the present invention as mentioned above.

The paper making belt conveyor unit 95 is a location functioning as thepaper making process unit for manufacturing wet paper by making from aslurry-like pulp suspension mixing the water W and used paper pulp UPPsent from a pulp feeding tank 89 in the pulp manufacturing unit 2, andmainly includes a paper making net conveyor (paper making conveyor) 100,and the pulp feeding unit 15.

The paper making net conveyor 100 is for conveying the pulp suspensionwhile making paper, and has a mesh belt 105 of paper making meshstructure composed of numerous mesh cells for filtering and dewateringthe pulp suspension PS disposed to run straightly toward its runningdirection.

Specifically, the paper making net conveyor 100 includes the mesh belt(endless mesh belt) 105 formed as an endless belt conveying and runningwhile making paper from the pulp suspension PS, and a drive motor 106for driving this mesh belt 105.

The plate material of the paper making mesh structure for composing themesh belt 105 is a material capable of filtering and dewatering the pulpsuspension PS appropriately through numerous mesh cells of the papermaking mesh structure, and preferable examples are polypropylene (PP),polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyamide (PA) (generally known asNylon, a registered trademark), stainless steel (SUS), and othercorrosion resistant materials, and in the illustrated preferredembodiment, a PET mesh belt 105 excellent in heat resistance is used.

The paper making mesh structure for composing the mesh belt 105 ispreferably fine in mesh size, and fine and smooth in weaving mesh, andmay be specifically selected depending on the characteristic of thedesired paper, and for example, the following points are taken intoconsideration.

(1) Mesh Size of Mesh Belt 105

The mesh size of the mesh belt 105 is preferably set at 25 mesh cells to80 mesh cells, and in the illustrated preferred embodiment, the meshbelt 105 of 50 mesh cells is used.

(2) Wire Diameter of Mesh of Mesh Belt 105

The mesh of the mesh belt 105 is determined not only by the number ofmesh cells (size), but also by the wire diameter of the mesh. If thenumber of mesh cells is the same, the mesh size is smaller when the wirediameter is larger, or larger when the diameter is smaller, and thisrelation is expressed by the porosity of mesh, or the ventilation degreeof airiness (cm³/cm²/sec).

For example, when the mesh is fine and the ventilation is poor, thewater filtering rate is low, and the shape and dimension of the pulpsupply unit 101 described below may be longer in the running directionof the mesh belt 105, and the apparatus is increased in size. To thecontrary, when the mesh is coarse and the ventilation is good, the pulpsupply unit 101 is short and the apparatus is small, but the paperquality of the recycled paper RP is coarse, and the difference ofsmoothness of the face and back sides is larger, and the paper is poorin smoothness.

Considering these conditions comprehensively, the mesh belt 105 isdesired to be small in the wire diameter of mesh, large in the number ofmesh cells, and reticular in structure not lowering in the degree ofventilation, in order to prevent the used paper pulp UPP from slippingout of the mesh cells of the mesh belt 105 in the paper making process,and the mesh belt 105 in the illustrated preferred embodiment is aplain-woven PET mesh belt 105 of 50 mesh cells. By using this mesh belt105, it has been experimentally proved that a favorable paper qualitysuited to writing is obtained.

The width dimension of the mesh belt 105 is set at a specified widthdimension slightly larger than the width dimension of the recycled paperRP to be manufactured by making from the pulp suspension PS.

The mesh belt 105 is supported and suspended so as to be rotatable byway of a drive roller 107, a dewatering roll unit 96, a driven roller108, and a support roller 109 as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 5, and it isdriven and coupled to the drive motor 106 by way of the drive roller107.

The paper making process length in the mesh belt 105 is set in a rangeof the upper side running direction length of the mesh belt 105 in theapparatus case 6 of furniture size (in the shown case, the lateraldirection length from the pulp supply unit 101 to the dewatering rollunit 96 in FIG. 1).

The running speed of the mesh belt 105 is set in consideration of thevarious conditions in the paper making process, and it is preferably setat 0.1 m/min to 1 m/min, and in the illustrated preferred embodiment, itis set at 0.2 m/min. Incidentally, in the conventional used paperrecycling plant of a large scale, the running speed of the paper makingbelt of this type was set at least at more than 100 m/min, or more than1000 m/min in a faster version.

The mesh belt 105 disposed so as to run upward obliquely and straightlytoward its running direction as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 5, and thepaper making process length is extended considerably in a limited spaceof installation, and the filtering and dewatering efficiency is enhancedin relation to the paper making mesh structure of the mesh belt 105.

The drive motor 106 for driving the mesh belt 105 is specifically anelectric motor, and is electrically connected to the device control unit5. This drive motor 106 is also used as the drive source of thedewatering roll unit 96 and the drying belt conveyor unit 97 describedbelow.

The pulp feeding unit (pulp feeder) 15 is a location for supplying thepulp suspension PS on the mesh belt 105 from the pulp making unit 2, andis disposed at the paper making process start end position of the papermaking net conveyor 100, and from this pulp feeding unit 15, the pulpsuspension PS is uniformly dispersed and supplied on the upper side ofthe mesh belt 105.

A specific structure of the pulp feeding unit 15 shown in the drawing isshown in FIG. 6 to FIG. 10. That is, in this pulp feeding unit 15, themesh belt 105 is disposed upward and obliquely toward the runningdirection as described above, and a paper making frame body 110 and apartition member 111 are disposed at the upper and lower positions ofthis mesh belt 105.

The paper making frame body 110 is disposed slidably on the upper sideof the mesh belt 105, and is to define the supply width L of the pulpsuspension PS sent from the pulp making unit 2 onto the upper side ofthe mesh belt 105, and mainly includes a main body frame 112, aretention unit 113, an overflow unit (overflow means) 114, and a flowpassage 115.

The main body frame 112 is formed in flat U-shape opened at the leadingend part, that is, the running direction side end part of the mesh belt105, and its lower end side 112 a is disposed to slide and contact withthe upper side 105 a of the mesh belt 105 running obliquely, and theframe inside width dimension of the main body frame 112, that is, theframe inside width dimension L of the paper making frame body 110 is setcorresponding to the width dimension of the recycled paper RP to bemanufactured, and the supply width L of the pulp suspension PS on theupper side 105 a of the mesh belt 105 is defined (see FIG. 6, FIG. 7,and FIG. 10)

The retention unit 113 is a location for retaining the slurry-like pulpsuspension PS mixing the water W and used paper pulp UPP sent from thepulp making unit 2, and is specifically disposed in a form of coveringthe mesh of the mesh belt 105 by a flat plate member 300 in a closedstate from the upper side, in the bottom of the main body frame 112, andthe bottom part of the retention unit 113 is formed by this flat platemember 300 and the running mesh belt 105.

In this relation, the leading edge of the flat plate member 300 isprovided with a thin guide sheet 301 for assuring a smooth flow of thepulp suspension PS to the mesh belt 105.

The overflow unit (overflow means) 114 is for keeping constant the waterlevel of the pulp suspension PS retained in the retention unit 113, andis provided at the leading position of the paper making frame body 110.

This overflow unit 114 specifically includes an overflow gate 302 and acollection route 303 as principal component, and in the illustratedpreferred embodiment, they are provided at both sides of the retentionunit 113 respectively.

The overflow gate 302 is provided at an inner wall 304 for composingboth walls of the retention unit 113 at the leading end position of themain body frame 112, and causes the pulp suspension PS to overflow whenthe water level H of the pulp suspension PS retained in the retentionunit 113 exceeds a specified level. The inner wall 304 forms theretention unit 113 together with the flat plate member 300 forming thebottom part and the running mesh belt 105 mentioned above.

An upper edge 302 a of the overflow gate 302 is set to be horizontal andstraight in a state of the paper making frame body 110 disposed on themesh belt 105. The height position of the upper edge 302 a of thisoverflow gate 302 is set corresponding to various conditions of the meshbelt 105 as mentioned above, so as to maintain the weight of the wetpaper RP₀ made on the mesh belt 105 and the recycled paper RP stably ata desired value.

That is, in order to stably maintain the weight of the wet paper RP₀made on the mesh belt 105, the retention action of the pulp suspensionPS in the retention unit 113 of the paper making frame body 110 is animportant element, and this retention action varies significantlydepending on the water volume (retention water amount) of the pulpsuspension PS in the retention unit 113. Accordingly, it is extremelyimportant to stabilize the water amount or the water level H of thispulp suspension PS.

In this pulp feeding unit 15, since the overflow gates 302, 302 areprovided, the water level H of the pulp suspension PS in the retentionunit 113 is stably maintained at a specified value.

Moreover, since the overflow gates 302 are provided at both side walls304, 304 of the retention unit 113 at the leading end position of themain body frame 112, that is, closely to the mesh belt 105 for makingpaper by filtering the pulp suspension PS, the water volume of the pulpsuspension PS, that is, the water level H can be maintained stably, andhence the weight of the wet paper RP₀ made on the mesh belt 105 can bealways assured stably.

The collection route 303 is a passage for collecting the pulp suspensionPS overflowing from the overflow gate 302, and communicates with thecollection port 303 a from the outside of the overflow gate 302 throughthe surrounding of the main body frame 112.

The pulp suspension PS overflowing from the overflow gate 302 flows downand is collected in this collection route 303, and is further collectedinto the pulp supply tank 89 from the collection port 303 a, and isre-used.

The flow passage 115 encourages a uniform dispersion of the pulpsuspension PS supplied into the retention unit 113, and preventsdisturbance of the pulp suspension PS, and is formed as a meanderingflow passage, and is provided at the upstream side of the retention unit113.

The flow passage 115 is specifically provided in a form curved and bentin a vertical direction between the supply port 115 a and the retentionunit 113 of the pulp suspension PS of the paper making frame body 110.

The flow passage 115 in the illustrated preferred embodiment is mainlyformed of a plurality of partition plates 305, 305, . . . provided inthe main body frame 112, and more specifically the flow passage 115 isformed in bent and curved form, consisting of a partition plate 305 aprovided in the supply unit 306 of the main body frame 112, a rear part(partition plate) 305 b of the flat plate member 300 for forming thebottom of the main body frame 112, and a partition plate 305 c providedupright in the main body frame 112. The running direction of the flowpassage 115 is formed in an upward direction from its inlet, that is,the supply port 115 a opened in the bottom of the supply unit 306,turning around the partition plate 305 a, further turning around thepartition plate 305 b, and extending toward the outlet 115 b opened atthe lower side of the partition plate 305 c (see arrow in FIG. 8). Thesupply port 115 a can communicate with the pulp supply tank 89 forsupplying the pulp suspension PS.

The upper edge of the partition plate 305 c provided upright in the mainbody frame 112 is provided so as to be positioned at the water level ofthe pulp suspension PS flowing and stagnant on the flat plate member116, that is, at a lower level than the water level H defined by theoverflow gate 302.

The assembly structure of the partition plates 305 a, 305 b, 305 c forforming the flow passage 115 and the main body frame 112 is notspecified, and for example, the partition plates 305 a, 305 b, 305 c maybe formed independently, and connected and assembled integrally with themain body frame 112, or they may be formed integrally when made ofinjection molding plastic material or integral forming material.

The partition member 111 is composed of a plurality of framework members111 a, 111 a, . . . , having a louver structure capable of draining, andhas a shape and size capable of sliding and supporting the entire widthof the lower side of the mesh belt 105.

In this relation, at the leading end of the flat plate member 116 of thepaper making frame body 110, as mentioned above, a thin guide sheet 301is provided for assuring a smooth flow of the pulp suspension PS on themesh belt 105, and the leading edge 88 a of this guide sheet 88 is setat a position corresponding to the beams for composing the louverstructure of the partition member 111, that is, one of the frameworkmembers 111 a, 111 a, . . . , and is more specifically disposed slidablyon the upper position of the mesh belt 105 supported by this beam 111 a.

The action and effect of the flow passage structure of the pulpsuspension PS in the pulp feeding unit 15 are estimated as follows.

(i) Meandering Route of Flow Passage 115

The flow passage 115 divided and formed by the partition plates 305 (305a, 305 b, 305 c) is meandering and long, and the pulp suspension PSpasses through this flow passage 115, and is dispersed uniformly, anddisturbance of the pulp suspension PS is prevented effectively.

(ii) Overflow Gate 302

By the presence of the overflow gates 302, 302, if the supply amount ofthe pulp suspension PS in the paper making frame body 110 varies, thewater level H of the pulp suspension PS retained in the paper makingframe body 110 is always maintained at a specific level, so that theweight (paper thickness) of the wet paper RP₀ made on the mesh belt 105may be stabilized.

That is, in the paper making process, in order to keep constant theweight (paper thickness), it is necessary to keep constant the supplyamount of the pulp suspension PS onto the mesh belt 105. In the supplyamount adjustment by the second suspension supply pump 90 mentionedabove, since the pump rotation=supply amount of pulp suspension PS isnot constant, the variation of the weight is significant.

By contrast, when the water level H of the pulp suspension PS retainedin the paper making frame body 110 is constant, the supply water volumeof the pulp suspension PS is constant, and by noticing this phenomenon,the pulp suspension PS is allowed to overflow from the leading end ofthe paper making frame body 110, and the water level H of the pulpsuspension PS retaining in the paper making frame body 110 is keptconstant. As a result, if the discharge amount of the second suspensionsupply pump 90 varies, the water level is constant, and a stable weightis obtained. In addition, precise pump control is not necessary.

(iii) Thin Guide Sheet 301 at the Leading Edge of Flat Plate Member 300

Since the leading edge 301 a of the guide sheet 301 is disposed slidablyon the upper side position of the mesh belt 105 supported by theassembly member 111 a for forming the louver structure of the partitionmember 111, uniform water filtering by the net of the mesh belt 105 isassured.

Between the assembly members 111 a, 111 a of the partition member 111,the pulp suspension PS tends to flow freely also in the direction of thedriven roller 108 when being filtered through the paper making meshstructure of the mesh belt 105, and hence uniform water filtering by themesh cells is difficult, and uneven water filtering may occur locally.When the water filtering is not uniform, the recycled paper RP may havelongitudinal patterns.

By contrast, as in the illustrated preferred embodiment, since theleading edge 301 a of the guide sheet 301 is set at the upper sideposition of the assembly member 111 a for forming the louver structureof the partition member 111, such inconvenience can be avoidedeffectively.

The upstream side of the pulp feeding unit 15 is provided with the pulpsupply tank 89 for supplying the pulp suspension PS to the pulp feedingunit 15.

The pulp suspension PS retained in the pulp supply tank 89 is suppliedby the second suspension supply pump 90, and supplied into the flowpassage 115 in the paper making frame body 110 from the supply port 115a, and passes slowly in this meandering flow passage 115 as indicated byarrow in FIG. 8, and flows into the retention unit 113 from the outlet115 b, and is retained to the water level H defined by the overflowgates 302, 302, and is uniformly dispersed and supplied on the upperside of the mesh belt 105 running being disposed upward and obliquelytoward the running direction, by the cooperative action of thisretention action and the running action of the mesh belt 105.

On the other hand, the pulp suspension PS flowing down and collected inthe collection route 303 by overflowing from the overflow gate 302 iscollected in the pulp supply tank 89 as mentioned above.

The pulp suspension PS uniformly dispersed on the upper side of the meshbelt 105 is conveyed together with the mesh belt 105, by the runningaction off the mesh belt 105 in the arrow direction, and is dewatered bythe self-weight filtering action by the mesh of the mesh belt 105, andwet paper RP₀ (water content 90 to 85% in the illustrated preferredembodiment) is obtained.

The white paper W filtered and dewatered by the mesh belt 105 (the pulpwater of an ultra-low concentration filtered by the paper making mesh inthe paper making process) is collected in the white water collectiontank 45 of the water feed device 27 as mentioned above.

The dewatering roll unit 96 composes a location for squeezing anddewatering the wet paper RP₀ on the mesh belt 105 at the linkageposition of the paper making belt conveyor unit 95 mentioned above andthe drying belt conveyor unit 97 described below.

More specifically, the smooth surface belt 145 described below of thedrying belt conveyor unit 97 at the downstream side, and the mesh belt105 of the paper making belt conveyor unit 95 at the upstream side arestacked up in upper and lower layers as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 5, andthe upper and lower adjacent portions of the smooth surface belt 145 andthe mesh belt 105 are the linkage location, and at this linkagelocation, the dewatering roll unit 96 rolls and squeezes the mesh belt105 and the smooth surface belt 145 by squeezing from upper and lowersides, thereby dewatering.

The dewatering roll unit 96 includes at least a preliminary dewateringroll unit 96A, and a final dewatering roll unit 96B.

The illustrated dewatering roll unit 96 is, as specifically shown inFIG. 1, mainly composed of the preliminary dewatering roll unit 96A, thefinal dewatering roll unit 96B, and an angle defining roll unit 96C asauxiliary means.

The preliminary dewatering roll unit 96A is for squeezing and dewateringthe wet paper RP₀ on the mesh belt 105 preliminarily, and morespecifically it includes a preliminary squeezing roll pair 122consisting of a preliminary dewatering roll 120 for rolling on the meshbelt 105 from the lower side, and a preliminary press roll 121 forrolling and pressing on the smooth surface belt 145 from the upper sidein relation to this preliminary dewatering roll 120.

By the preliminary squeezing roll pair 122 consisting of the preliminarydewatering roll 120 and the preliminary press roll 121, the mesh belt105 and the smooth surface belt 145 are rolled and squeezed in a pressedform by a specified preliminary pressure from the upper and lower sides,and the moisture contained in the wet paper RP₀ on the mesh belt 105 ispreliminarily dewatered and removed.

In this case, the preliminary pressure, that is, the preliminarysqueezing force of the preliminary dewatering roll unit 96A forpreliminarily squeezing and dewatering the wet paper RP₀ on the meshbelt 105 is set in a range not to destroy the wet paper RP₀ having alarge water content, and in the illustrated preferred embodiment, thepreliminary squeezing force is set in a range so that the water contentof the wet paper on the mesh belt 105 may be 80 to 75% after thepreliminary dewatering process.

The final dewatering roll unit 96B is a location for finally squeezingand dewatering the wet paper RP₀ on the mesh belt 105 after preliminarydewatering in the preliminary dewatering roll unit 96A to obtain driedpaper (recycled paper) RP of a specified water content, and morespecifically includes at least one set of final squeezing roll pair 127consisting of a final dewatering roll 125 for rolling on the mesh belt105 from the lower side, and a final press roll 126 for rolling andpressing on the smooth surface belt 145 from the upper side in relationto this final dewatering roll 125.

By the final squeezing roll pair 127 consisting of the final dewateringroll 125 and the final press roll 126, the mesh belt 105 and the smoothsurface belt 145 are rolled and squeezed in a pressed form by aspecified final pressure from the upper and lower sides, and themoisture contained in the wet paper RP₀ on the mesh belt 105 is finallydewatered and removed, and a dried paper of specified water content,that is, a recycled paper RP is obtained.

In this case, the final pressure, that is, the final squeezing force ofthe final dewatering roll unit 96B for finally squeezing and dewateringthe wet paper RP₀ on the mesh belt 105 is set to such a degree as to becapable of obtaining a specified dewatering effect securely on thepreliminarily dewatered wet paper RP₀, and in the illustrated preferredembodiment, it is set in a range of water content of 70 to 85% in thedried paper (recycled paper) RP on the mesh belt 105 after finaldewatering.

The rolls 120, 121, 125, 126 in the dewatering roll unit 96 are notspecifically shown in the drawing, but are driven and coupled to asingle drive motor 106 by means of driving and coupling means composedof a gearing mechanism, and all rolls 120, 121, 125, 126 are rotated anddriven in mutual cooperation.

In this case, these rolls 120, 121, 125, 126 are rotated and controlledso that the outer circumference of the upper and lower rolls 120, 125,and the outer circumference of the rolls 121, 126 may mutually roll andcontact with each other and a slight rotating speed difference eachother, with respect to the contact surface of the mesh belt 105 and thesmooth surface belt 145 (the lower side of the mesh belt 105 and theupper side of the smooth surface belt 145) being rolled and squeezed ina pressed state, between their outer circumferential surfaces.

More specifically, the rotating speed of the preliminary and final pressrolls 121,126 of the upper side is set slightly larger than the rotatingspeed of the preliminary and final press rolls 120,125 of the lowerside, and hence the running speed of the smooth surface belt 145 is setlightly larger than the running speed of the mesh belt 105. In thisconstitution, as described below, when the wet paper RP₀ squeezed anddewatered by the dewatering roll 96 is transferred and moved to thelower side of the smooth surface belt 145 of the upper side from theupper side of the mesh belt 105 of the lower side, a tension is appliedto the wet paper RP₀, and wrinkling of the wet paper RP₀ may beprevented effectively.

The angle defining roll unit (angle defining means) 96C is a locationfor assisting and validating the squeezing and dewatering action by thepreliminary dewatering roll unit 96A and the final dewatering roll unit96B, and it is provided at the upstream side of the preliminarydewatering roll unit 96A, and defines the inclination angle between themesh belt 105 and the smooth surface belt 145 inserted in thepreliminary dewatering roll unit 96A.

The angle defining roll unit 96C specifically defines the inclinationangle between the mesh belt 105 and the smooth surface belt 145 insertedin the preliminary dewatering roll unit 96A, and more specifically itincludes a mesh belt guide roll 130 for defining the insertion angle ofthe mesh belt 105 into the preliminary dewatering roll unit 96A byrolling on the mesh belt 105 from the lower side, and a smooth surfacebelt guide roll 131 for defining the insertion angle of the smoothsurface belt 145 into the preliminary dewatering roll unit 96A byrolling on the smooth surface belt 145 from the upper side.

The insertion angle of the mesh belt 105 into the preliminary dewateringroll unit 96A is defined by the mesh belt guide roll 130, and theinsertion angle of the smooth surface belt 145 into the preliminarydewatering roll unit 96A is defined by the smooth surface belt guideroll 131, and therefore the inclination angle between the mesh belt 105and the smooth surface belt 145 is determined indirectly in a specifiedrange.

The inclination angle between the mesh belt 105 and the smooth surfacebelt 145 is set so as to prevent the wet paper RP₀ from becoming slurryagain by the preliminary dewatering action by the preliminary dewateringroll unit 96A, as the moisture contained in the wet paper RP₀ ismassively squeezed out to the upstream side of the preliminarydewatering roll unit 96A, and the large amount of water thus squeezed isabsorbed again in the wet paper RP₀.

In other words, by the preliminary dewatering roll 120 and thepreliminary press roll 121 of the preliminary dewatering roll unit 96A,when the mesh belt 105 mounting the wet paper RP₀ on the upper side andthe smooth surface belt 145 are rolled and squeezed in a pressed statefrom the upper and lower sides, the moisture contained in the wet paperRP₀ is squeezed out to the upstream side of the both rolls 120, 121.

In this case, if the inclination angle α formed between the mesh belt105 and the smooth surface belt 145 is large, at a position near theupstream side of the both rolls 120, 121, the smooth surface belt 145 ofthe upper side is departed from the wet paper RP₀ on the mesh belt 105at the lower side, and a part of the massive squeezed moisture containedin the wet paper RP₀ is absorbed again in the wet paper RP₀ and the wetpaper RP₀ may become slurry again.

By contrast, when the inclination angle α formed between the mesh belt105 and the smooth surface belt 145 is small, at a position near theupstream side of the both rolls 120, 121, the smooth surface belt 145 ofthe upper side is pressed to the wet paper RP₀ on the mesh belt 105 atthe lower side, and all of the massive squeezed moisture contained inthe wet paper RP₀ falls down through the mesh belt 105, and is notabsorbed again in the wet paper RP₀ and the wet paper RP₀ may beprevented from becoming slurry again.

The inclination angle α formed between the mesh belt 105 and the smoothsurface belt 145 is preferably set at 1 to 20 degrees as a result ofexperiments, and more preferably set at 3 to 7 degrees, and it is set at5 degrees in the illustrated preferred embodiment.

Thus, by driving of the drive motor 106, the rolls 120, 121, 125, 126 ofthe preliminary dewatering roll unit 96A and the final dewatering rollunit 96B in the dewatering roll unit 96 are put in rotation, and firstby the preliminary squeezing roll pair 122 in the preliminary dewateringroll unit 96A, the mesh belt 105 and the smooth surface belt 145 arerolled and squeezed in a pressed state from both upper and lower sideswith a specified preliminary pressure, and the moisture contained in thewet paper RP₀ on the mesh belt 105 is preliminarily dewatered andremoved (in the illustrated preferred embodiment, the water content ofthe wet paper RP₀ is reduced from 90 to 85% to 80 to 75%).

In succession, by the final squeezing roll pair 127 in the finaldewatering roll unit 96B, the mesh belt 105 and the smooth surface belt145 are rolled and squeezed in a pressed state from both upper and lowersides with a specified final pressure, and the moisture contained in thewet paper RP₀ on the mesh belt 105 is finally dewatered and removed, anddry paper of specified water content, that is, recycled paper RP isobtained (in the illustrated preferred embodiment, the water content ofthe wet paper RP₀ is reduced from 80 to 75% to 70 to 65%). In thisseries of processes, the white water W squeezed and dewatered from thewet paper RP₀ is collected in the white water collection tank 45 of thewater feed unit 27.

The wet paper RP₀ squeezed and dewatered in the dewatering roll unit 96is transferred and conveyed to the lower side of the smooth surface belt145 at the upper side from the upper side of the mesh belt 105 of thelower side at the downstream side location of the dewatering roll unit96, and is conveyed together with the smooth surface belt 145, and thedrying process by the drying belt conveyor unit 97 is executed.

This transfer action is considered to be caused by the smooth surfacestructure of the smooth surface belt 145. That is, the surface of themesh belt 105 at the lower side is a fine undulated surface formingmultiple fine continuous pores, while the surface of the smooth surfacebelt 145 at the upper side is a smooth surface without pores, and thewet paper RP₀ containing a slight moisture seems to be attracted by thesurface tension against the surface of the smooth surface belt 145.

The drying belt conveyor unit 97 is a location for obtaining recycledpaper RP by further heating and drying the dried paper RP squeezed anddewatered in the dewatering roll unit 96 after the paper making processin the paper making belt conveyor unit 95, and mainly includes a dryingconveyor 170, a heating and drying unit 171, and the recycled papersmoothing unit (recycled paper smoothing device, recycled papersmoothing means) 10 mentioned above.

The drying conveyor 170 smoothes and conveys the wet paper RP₀ squeezedand dewatered in the dewatering roll unit 96, and mainly includes thesmooth surface belt 145, and the drive motor 106 for driving the smoothsurface belt 145.

The smooth surface belt 145 is for conveying the wet paper RP₀ whileheating and drying, and specifically it is an endless belt of platematerials of smooth surface structure having a specified width connectedand formed like a ring of a specified length. The plate material of thesmooth surface structure is any material capable of finishing the oneside surface of the wet paper RP₀ to a proper smoothness, andwithstanding the heating action by the heating and drying unit 171described below, and preferably fluoroplastic, stainless steel, or otherflexible heat-resistant material may be used, and a fluoroplastic beltis used in the illustrated preferred embodiment.

This smooth surface belt 145 is, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 5,rotatably suspended and supported by way of a drive roller 176, a drivenroller 177, the dewatering roll unit 96, and a driven roller 178, and isdriven and coupled to the drive motor 106 by way of the drive roller176.

The drive motor 106 for driving the smooth surface belt 145, asdescribed above, is used commonly as the driving source of the papermaking net conveyor 100 and the dewatering roll unit 96.

The heating and drying unit 171 is a location for heating and drying thewet paper RP₀ transferred, rolled and conveyed on the smooth surfacebelt 145 from the mesh belt 105 of the paper making net conveyor 100,and specifically the smooth surface belt 145 for conveying andsupporting the lower side of the wet paper RP₀ is heated from the lowerside by a heater 180 disposed in an intermediate position of the runningroute thereof.

This heater 180 is a heater plate sliding and contacting with theopposite side of the conveying and supporting side of the wet paper RP₀on the smooth surface belt 145, and is provided in a horizontaldirection running portion in the running route of the smooth surfacebelt 145, and is provided in slide and contact with the opposite side ofthe upper side of the holding side of the wet paper RP₀ in the smoothsurface belt 145, that is, at the lower side. As a result, the wet paperRP₀ on the smooth surface belt 145 is heated indirectly and dried by thesmooth surface belt 145 heated by the heater plate 180.

The specific structure of the heater 180 in the illustrated preferredembodiment is shown in FIG. 5, and it is designed to function also asthe recycled paper smoothing unit 10.

That is, the recycled paper smoothing unit 10 of the present preferredembodiment mainly includes the smooth surface belt 145, and a belt guideunit (belt guide means) 200 for sliding and supporting this smoothsurface belt 145 from the lower side, and guiding the smooth surfacebelt 145 in a running state being curved upward toward the runningdirection, and the belt guide unit 200 is provided with the heater 180.

More specifically, the belt guide unit 200 is a plate material curvedupward toward the running direction of the smooth surface belt 145, andhaving a horizontal and straight contour in the width direction, andthis component material has a sufficient strength and wear resistancefor sliding and supporting the smooth surface belt 145 from the lowerside, and in particular a material excellent in heat transfer propertyis preferred as a base material for the heater plate.

The belt guide unit 200 in the illustrated preferred embodiment is madeof a stainless steel plate (SUS), and is mounted and supported on theapparatus machine body 54 by means of support base plates 201, 201, andits upper surface is the curved guide surface 200 a. Although not shownspecifically in the drawing, the lower side 200 b of the belt guide unit200 is integrally provided with a flat heater of a thin plate, and it isformed as a heater plate of the heater 180.

On the curved guide surface 200 a of the belt guide unit 200 having suchconfiguration, the smooth surface belt 145 is slidably disposed with aspecified tension. As a result, the smooth surface belt 145 is guidedslidably on the curved guide surface 200 a of the belt guide unit 200 soas to run in an upward curved state (see FIG. 5)

The recycled paper smoothing unit 10 of the present preferred embodimenthas a pressing unit 250 for pressing the entire wet paper RP₀ conveyedon the smooth surface belt 145 with a uniform pressure from the upperside, in addition to the configuration described above.

This pressing unit 250 is composed in a form of a covering belt conveyorspecifically as shown in FIG. 5.

The covering belt conveyor 250 includes a covering belt 251 disposed andcomposed to run in a same horizontal direction in a state overlaid withthe smooth surface belt 145, and the drive motor 106 for driving thiscovering belt 251. This drive motor 106 is used commonly as the drivesource of the paper making net conveyor 100 and the dewatering roll unit96 as explained in preferred embodiment 1.

The covering belt 251 is an endless belt running while covering theentire wet paper RP₀ on the smooth surface belt 145 while tightlyholding together with the smooth surface belt 145, and its lower side,that is, the side covering the entire wet paper RP₀ together with thesmooth surface belt 145 cooperates with the upper side of the smoothsurface belt 145, and a flat smoothing action surface is formed forsmoothing the entire wet paper RP₀. The covering range of the wet paperRP₀ (recycled paper RP) by the covering belt 251 is set in a rangenearly opposite to the belt guide unit 200 (that is, the heater plate180) in the running route of the smooth surface belt 145.

The covering belt 251 is specifically a mesh belt, and has a ventilationmesh structure composed of numerous mesh cells for passing and releasingthe steam heated and evaporated from the wet paper RP₀.

The plate material of the ventilation mesh structure for composing themesh belt 251 is a material capable of passing and releasing themoisture heated and evaporated from the wet paper RP₀ on the smoothsurface belt 145 smoothly to the upper side from the numerous meshcells, and preferably, same as in the mesh belt 105 of the paper makingunit 4 mentioned above, desired examples are polypropylene (PP),polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyamide (PA) (generally known asNylon, a registered trademark), stainless steel (SUS), and othercorrosion resistant materials, and in the illustrated preferredembodiment, a PET mesh belt 251 excellent in heat resistance is used.

The ventilation mesh structure of the mesh belt 251 is preferred to befine in mesh size, and fine and smooth in weaving, and same as the meshbelt 105 of the paper making unit 4 described above, a specific materialis selected in consideration of the characteristic of the desired paper.

As far as the mesh belt 251 satisfies the requirements of heatresistance of withstanding high heat in the heating and drying process,and the ventilation for passing the steam heated and evaporated from thewet paper RP₀, strict design conditions as required in the mesh belt 105forming the core of the paper making unit 4 are not needed, but the meshbelt 251 in the illustrated preferred embodiment is a plain-wovenPET-made mesh belt of 25 mesh cells.

The width dimension of the mesh belt 251 is set same as the widthdimension of the smooth surface belt 145 as shown in FIG. 5 so as tooverlap with the smooth surface belt 145 and hold the wet paper RP₀ in asandwich state.

The mesh belt 251 is rotatably suspended and supported by way of a driveroller 255, and a driven roller 256, and the drive roller 255 is drivenand coupled to the drive motor 106.

The mesh belt 251 is slidably disposed on a curved guide surface 200 aof a belt guide unit 200 with a specified tension by way of the smoothsurface belt 145. As a result, in a state overlaid with the smoothsurface belt 145, the mesh belt 251 is guided slidably in a samedirection on the curved guide surface 200 a of the belt guide unit 200,and runs in an upward curved state (see FIG. 9 and FIG. 10 (a)).

By such disposition and configuration of the mesh belt 251, the meshbelt 251 pressed the wet paper RP₀ on the smooth surface belt 145 with auniform pressure in the overall length of the covering range, andwithout causing warp or wrinkle in the wet paper RP₀ (recycled paperRP), the one-side surface of the wet paper RP₀ (recycled paper RP)contacting with the surface of the smooth surface belt 145 and theopposite-side surface are finished to an appropriate smooth surface.

After the wet paper RP₀ squeezed and dewatered by the dewatering rollunit 96 is transferred and roll on the lower side of the smooth surfacebelt 145 at the upper side from the upper side of the mesh belt 105 ofthe lower side, the smooth surface belt 145 is inverted to run by way ofthe rollers 178, 176, and the wet paper RP₀ on the smooth surface belt145 conveyed from the smooth surface belt 145 is provided with a uniformtension in the conveying and running direction by means of the runningaction of the smooth surface belt 145, and the curved shape of thesmooth surface belt 145 by the belt guide unit 200 (180), and by thepressing force by covering with the mesh belt 251 of the covering beltconveyor 250 from the upper side, the wet paper is heated and driedwhile being held in a sandwich state by uniform pressures from the upperand lower side. As a result, the wrinkle and the warp of the wet paperRP₀ caused in the proceeding process of paper making process areeffectively eliminated, and occurrence of wrinkle or warp of the wetpaper by the heating and drying process by the heater plate 180 can beeffectively prevented, and the entire wet paper RP₀ is uniformly driedby an appropriate ventilation of the mesh belt 251 of the upper side, sothat the wet paper RP₀ is regenerated into a smooth recycled paper (drypaper) RP on the whole.

In other words, the wet paper RP₀ (recycled paper RP) is heated anddried while being held in a flat state, by the cooperative action of thesandwich structure of a specified pressure by the smooth surface belt145 and the covering belt 251, together with the uniform tension appliedin the conveying and running direction, and the wrinkle and warp causedon the wet paper RP₀ in the proceeding process of paper making processis effectively lost and removed, and occurrence of wrinkle and warp ofthe wet paper RP₀ (recycled paper RP) by the heating and drying actionby the heater plate 180 can be effective prevented further, andtherefore in the very narrow used paper processing space of a furnituresize, a smooth recycled paper RP free from wrinkle can be regeneratedsecurely.

Moreover, the covering belt 251 of the covering belt conveyor 250 isformed of a mesh belt composed of numerous mesh cells capable of passingand releasing the steam heated and evaporated from the wet paper RP₀ onthe smooth surface belt 145 to the upper side, in spite of the presenceof the covering belt 251, the steam generated by heating of the wetpaper RP₀ can be effectively elevated and dissipated, and the dryingprocess is smoothly promoted.

At the downstream side of the heating and drying unit 171 on the smoothsurface belt 145, a stripping member 210 is provided, and the dry paperor the recycled paper RP (water content 10 to 7%) being dried andconveyed on the smooth surface belt 145 is sequentially stripped offfrom the holding side of the smooth surface belt 145.

In this relation, at the running route terminal end position of thesmooth surface belt 145 at the downstream side of the stripping member210, a fixed size cutter unit 211 is provided, and the recycled paper RPstripped from the smooth surface belt 145 is cut to a specified size (inthe illustrated preferred embodiment, an A4 size format), and isdischarged from the outlet port 8 of the apparatus case 6.

The device control unit 5 is to control the driving parts of the pulpmaking unit 2, the pulp concentration adjustment unit 3, and the papermaking unit 4 automatically by mutual cooperation, and is specificallycomposed of a microcomputer having CPU, ROM, RAM, and I/O port.

This device control unit 5 stores programs for executing the pulp makingprocess of the pulp making unit 2, the concentration adjustment processof the concentration adjustment unit 3, and the paper making process ofthe paper making unit 4 by mutual cooperation, and various items ofinformation necessary for driving of the component units 2 (20, 21), 3(3A, 33), and 4 (95, 96, 97) are preliminarily entered as data throughkeyboard or other input means appropriately, including, for example, thedriving time and rotating speed of the agitating device 26 in themacerating unit 20, the water feed timing and the water feed amount ofthe water feed device 27, the driving time and the agitation amount ofthe circulation pump 69 in the beating unit 21, the driving time and therotating speed of the grinder 50, the adjustment timing and the beatinggap G adjustment amount of the gap adjusting means 57, the running speedof the conveyors 100, 170 in the paper making unit 4, the driving timeof the heating and drying unit 171, and the operation timing of thefixed size cutter unit 211.

The device control unit 5 electrically connected with the weight sensors48, 87, and the drive units 35, 41, 56, 61, 66, and 106 as mentionedabove, and the drive control unit 5 controls these drive units 35, 41,56, 61, 66, and 106, according to these measured values and controldata.

The used paper recycling apparatus 1 having such configuration isstarted when the power source is turned on, and the component units 2(20, 21), 3 (3A, 3B), and 4 (95, 96, 97) are controlled automatically bymutual cooperation, and the used paper UP, UP, . . . charged into theinlet port 7 of the apparatus case 6 are macerated and beaten by themacerating unit 20 and the beating unit 21 of the pulp making unit 2,and the used paper pulp UPP is manufactured, and the pulp suspension PSof paper making concentration is prepared in the pulp concentrationadjustment unit 3, and this pulp suspension PS is manufactured in thepaper making belt conveyor unit 95 of the paper making unit 4, thedewatering roll unit 96, and the drying belt conveyor unit 97, and isregenerated as recycled paper RP, and is discharged onto the recycledpaper receiving tray 9 from the outlet port 8 of the apparatus case 6.

In the used paper recycling apparatus 1 having such configuration, thepulp feeding unit (pulp feeder) 15 of the paper making unit 4 isdisposed slidably on the upper side 105 a of the mesh belt 105 a runningin the paper making belt conveyor unit (paper making process unit) 95,and includes the retention unit 113 for retaining a slurry-like pulpsuspension PS mixing the water W and used paper pulp UPP sent from thepulp manufacturing unit 2, and the paper making frame body 110 fordefining the supply width L of the pulp suspension PS on the upper sideof the mesh belt 105, in which the leading endposition of this papermaking frame body 110 is provided with the overflow unit 114 for keepingconstant the water level H of the pulp suspension PS retained in theretention unit 113, and the pulp suspension PS supplied in the papermaking frame body 110 is retained in the retention unit 113 to the waterlevel H defined the overflow unit 114, and is uniformly dispersed andsupplied on the upper side of the mesh belt 105 by cooperative action ofthis retention action and the running action of the mesh belt 105, andtherefore if the supply amount of the pulp suspension PS sent into thepaper making frame body 110 varies, the water level H of the pulpsuspension PS retained in the paper making frame body 110 is always keptconstant, and the weight of the used paper RP₀ made on the mesh belt 105is stable, so that recycled paper RP of uniform texture will beobtained.

The foregoing preferred embodiment may be modified and changed in designas described below.

For example, the specific configuration of the pulp feeding unit (pulpfeeder) 15 of the present invention is not limited to the illustratedpreferred embodiments alone, but other configurations having similarfunctions may be employed.

For example, in the used paper recycling apparatus in the illustratedpreferred embodiments, the grinder 50 for composing the beating unit 21of the pulp making unit 2 is used for pressurizing and beating the usedpaper by the beating action surfaces 51 a, 52 a, and for grinding andpulverizing the inks forming the characters and patterns on the usedpaper, and by using only the tap water such as drinking water obtainedfrom the general water services, the configuration requires no papermaking chemicals such as used paper de-inking chemicals conventionallyessential in large-scale used paper recycling equipment in the papermaking plant or used paper recycling plant, and moreover the presentinvention is applicable, as a matter of course, not only in the usedpaper recycling apparatus capable of realizing used paper recycling byordinary water alone, but also in the used paper recycling apparatususing paper making chemicals such as used paper de-inking chemicals.

As the present invention may be embodied in several forms withoutdeparting from the spirit of essential characteristics thereof, thepresent preferred embodiment is therefore illustrative and notrestrictive, since the scope of the present invention is defined by theappended claims rather than by the description preceding them, and allchanges that fall within metes and bounds of the claims, or equivalenceof such metes and bounds thereof are therefore intended to be embracedby the claims.

1. A pulp feeder of a used paper recycling apparatus, being a device forcomposing a pulp feeding unit of a paper making device in a used paperrecycling apparatus of furniture size to be installed at the site oforigin of used paper, the paper making device being for manufacturingrecycled paper by making from used paper pulp manufactured in aproceeding process of pulp manufacturing unit, comprising: a papermaking frame body disposed slidably on the upper side of an endless meshbelt running in a paper making process unit, having a retention unit forretaining a slurry-like pulp suspension mixing the water and used paperpulp sent from the pulp manufacturing unit, and for defining the supplywidth of the pulp suspension on the upper side of the endless mesh belt,wherein the leading end position of this paper making frame body isprovided with overflow means for keeping constant the water level of thepulp suspension retained in the retention unit, and the pulp suspensionsupplied in the paper making frame body is retained in the retentionunit to the water level defined the overflow means, and is uniformlydispersed and supplied on the upper side of the endless mesh belt bycooperative action of this retention action and the running action ofthe endless mesh belt.
 2. The pulp feeder of a used paper recyclingapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the paper making frame body hasits frame inside width dimension set at the width dimension of therecycled paper to be manufactured, and the supply width of the pulpsuspension on the upper side of the endless mesh belt is defined.
 3. Thepulp feeder of a used paper recycling apparatus according to claim 1,wherein the overflow means is provided at both side walls of theretention unit at the leading end position of the paper making framebody, and includes an overflow gate for overflowing the pulp suspensionwhen the water level of the pulp suspension retained in the paper makingframe body exceeds a specific level, and a collection route passing to acollection port by way of the periphery of the paper making frame bodyfrom the outside of this overflow gate.
 4. The pulp feeder of a usedpaper recycling apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the upper edgeof the overflow gate is set to be horizontal and straight in a state ofthe paper making frame body installed on the endless mesh belt.
 5. Thepulp feeder of a used paper recycling apparatus according to claim 1,wherein the bottom of the paper making frame body is provided with aflat plate member for covering the mesh of the mesh belt in a closedstate from the upper side, and the bottom of the retention unit isformed by this flat plate member and the running endless mesh belt, andthe pulp suspension supplied in the paper making frame body is retainedin the retention unit to a water level defined by the overflow means,and is uniformly dispersed and supplied on the upper side of the endlessmesh belt by cooperative action of this retention action and the runningaction of the endless mesh belt.
 6. The pulp feeder of a used paperrecycling apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the leading end edgeof the flat plate member of the paper making frame body is provided witha thin guide sheet for assuring a smooth flow of the pulp suspension onthe mesh belt.
 7. The pulp feeder of a used paper recycling apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the upstream side of the retention unit inthe paper making frame body is provided with a meandering flow passagefor promoting uniform dispersion of the supplied pulp suspension, andpreventing disturbance of the pulp suspension.
 8. The pulp feeder of aused paper recycling apparatus according to claim 7, wherein themeandering flow passage is provided in a zigzag form in a verticaldirection between the supply port of the pulp suspension of the papermaking frame body and the retention unit.
 9. (canceled)
 10. The pulpfeeder of a used paper recycling apparatus according to claim 1, whereinthe lower side of the running endless mesh belt is provided with apartition plate member disposed slidably.
 11. The pulp feeder of a usedpaper recycling apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the partitionplate member is formed in a louver structure for slidably supporting thelower side of the endless mesh belt.
 12. The pulp feeder of a used paperrecycling apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the endless mesh beltis disposed upward and obliquely toward the running direction.
 13. Apaper making device of a used paper recycling apparatus, being a papermaking device for composing a used paper recycling apparatus offurniture size to be installed at the site of origin of used paper, formanufacturing recycled paper by making from used paper pulp manufacturedin a proceeding process of a pulp making device, comprising: a papermaking process unit for producing wet paper by making from a slurry-likepulp suspension mixing water and used paper pulp sent from the pulpmaking device, wherein this paper making process unit has a paper makingconveyor for conveying while making the pulp suspension, and a pulpfeeding unit being installed at a paper making process start endposition of the paper making conveyor, for feeding the pulp suspensionfrom the pulp making device to the paper making conveyor, and this pulpfeeding unit is composed of the pulp feeder of any one of claims 1 to 5and 10 to
 12. 14. A used paper recycling apparatus, comprising: in anapparatus case of furniture size, a pulp making unit for manufacturingused paper pulp by macerating and beating used paper, a paper makingunit for manufacturing recycled paper by making from the used paper pulpmanufactured in the pulp making unit, and a control unit for driving andcontrolling the pulp making unit and the paper making unit by interlock,wherein the paper making unit is composed of the paper making device ofclaim 13.